Manistee River Steelhead Fishing Report – April 11, 2026

April 11, 2026/

After the extremely high water earlier in the week, the Manistee is back down at a fishable level with a heavy stain. Steelhead fishing has been great the past couple of days with a mix of older fish spawning and quite a few bright fish just showing up daily.  This weather “interruption” looks to have given us a nice extension to this Spring’s run.

Focusing on runs behind spawning areas has been highly productive. With the amount of color in the water, larger rag eggs have taken a bulk of our fish. Salmon fry are around in large numbers and brighter fry patterns have been productive.  Additionally, at this point in the season, stone fly numbers are increasing, meaning larger stonefly nymph patterns are working well.

We are setting up for good fishing into May this year and we have some spots still open.  Give us a call at 231-228-7135 or click here to book online!

Thanks for your business!

The Hawkins Crew

Chris Butz

Chris Butz

sa-frequency-magnum-glow-line

SA Frequency Magnum Glow Line

June 11, 2023
The SA Frequency Magnum Glow Line is a specialty line for those that enjoy the pursuit of big brown trout in the dark.  I have been fortunate to use this fly line...
fishing-foam-patterns

Fishing Foam Patterns

May 28, 2023
Fishing Foam Patterns during the middle of the summer is pretty standard because there are less natural aquatic insects hatching.  Trout are keying in on terrestrials, like grasshoppers, ants, and...
garden-river-salmon

Transitioning to Fall

May 18, 2023
Garden River Salmon If it’s salmon you are looking for the Garden River in Sault St Marie, Canada, is a special place. This is private water owned by the Garden River First...
southwest-michigan-steelhead

Southwest Michigan Steelhead

May 7, 2023
Introduction and Where Hawkins Outfitters is excited to introduce a new option to pursue steelhead in the Southwest portion of Michigan. This is a great choice for those folks traveling...